Much merriment in the Eastern state of Thuringia: 25 years after the fall of the wall, the Greens and the SPD in the state parliament are poised to form a coalition with the Left (die Linke), which would give the Left its first minister president ever. What’s the Matter with the Left? Predictably, this is…
Even the Washington Post has woken up to the fact that 25 years after the uprising in the GDR, Germany stubbornly remains divided economically, politically, and socially. In the great scheme of things, this may matter less than you might think: In Western Europe alone, the UK, Spain, Belgium, or Switzerland – countries that have…
The rise of Germany’s new far right party AfD has been nothing but meteoric. But recently, the party’s image has suffered two significant blows.
Today, I’m guest blogging on the #EP2014 results at the LSE’s execellent EUROPOPP blog. Click here for a number of opinionated and short “expert reactions” to yesterdays’s train wreck election.
Amidst the ongoing leadership crisis, financial doom and the possibility of a ban, Germany’s NPD is fighting a desperate European campaign. Here is the link to the interview. Photo by qousqous
You could not possibly make this up. Amidst a legal-constitutional battle over the NPD’s survival, the Secretary General (top executive manager) of Germany’s oldest right-wing extremist party NPD resigns over what is by now affectionately known as the Saarbrücken Penis Cake Affair. The story (as ridiculous as it gets) also involves Miss Nationalist Santa, and…
Party system change, illustrated. Germany’s FDP was represented in the federal parliament from 1949 until 2013. During this time, they were part of various government coalitions for more than four decades. In 2009, they managed to attract more than 14 per cent of the vote, their best national result ever. Many voters did not like…
It’s been a boring three months without any offbeat news on the right-wing extremist NPD, but here is hope. The NPD tries to put some distance between themselves and a nationalist porn star.
Yesterday, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled on the constitutionality of Germany’s biggest broadcaster, telling parties to keep away. Plus there is a spoof video in this post.
Germany’s Constitutional Court just killed the electoral threshold for European Elections. Here is the backstory, i.e. my random thoughts on the issue.